GP2 Champion Davide Valsecchi has topped the final day of testing at Abu Dhabi at the wheel of the Lotus E20. The Italian posted a time of 1m42.677s and was therefore also the fastest man of the entire 3-day test.

Yes - Gary Paffett. Have you heard of him? Up and coming young talent that boy

Sarcasm aside - Paffett is almost "bred" to be a "young test driver" for McLaren. He'll be there to test new parts, of course - rather than being there to test up and coming young talent. He can be there because of a loophole, that drivers who have started less than 2 Grands Prix are able to be counted as a "young driver" to test.

That's pretty bad. Why don't the other teams use their 'test driver' then if it's completely acceptable? There is no grey area here, if Paffett can run, why not turf the youth and just have a test day. The whole point is to give new blood a chance. If that new blood tries some new parts, so be it, but the new blood is getting a taste and that's great for the sport.

Technically, McLaren wouldn't be in the 'spirit' of the rules here would they?

No, not in the spirit. The test driver has an upper limit of 2 GPs. If they've only started 1 GP, then they can test. But otherwise, no. So Buemi for example won't be able to test for Red Bull, because he's done 2 or more GPs.

the FIA need to mandate that a young driver test is for drivers who have never driven a F1 car or have done under X kms. That's the whole point. It's to give the young guys a chance to impress and get a feel for one of these beasts. Surely it's not that difficult to regulate?

Paffett has been in F1 since 2005 (that I can find) - certainly does not qualify for this. Age has nothing to do with it. You can be 80 and still qualify if you've never driven, or had limit running, in an F1 car.

Edit: I've clearly taken umbrage with this Paffett situation. Apologies to Paffett, he's not focus, it's the FIA and the teams for allowing it. It's hard enough to get into F1 without having the governing body going against you too. Again and again, the FIA show a lack of leadership and pathetic regulation governance.

I think forbidding drivers who satisfy any of the below criteria should stop the problem:

1. The driver who has started a F1 race.2. The driver who has taken part in pre-season or mid-season practice sessions (only team's test drivers and race drivers can take part in it).3. The driver, who is either a team's official race, reserve or test driver.

So the only drivers who remain are those who have either never driven a F1 car before or those who may have participated in a team's friday practice sessions.